Pirates vs Brewers Odds, Lines, and Pick (April 17)
- The Pirates and Brewers continue their three-game series at American Family Field
- Pittsburgh sends Trevor Cahill to the mound against Milwaukee’s Brett Anderson
- For the odds, matchup analysis, and best bets, check out the article below
The Milwaukee Brewers have won three series in a row, all against National League Central opponents. If they want to continue that trend, they’ll need to dig in against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday, April 17 (first pitch at 7:10pm ET).
Pittsburgh won the opener of this three-game set, 6-1, but Milwaukee remains the moneyline favorite entering Game 2:
Pirates vs Brewers Odds
| Team | Moneyline | Runline | Run Total at DraftKings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Pirates | +125 | +1.5 (-177) | Over 8 (-115) |
| Milwaukee Brewers | -143 | -1.5 (+148) | Under 8 (-106) |
Odds as of April 17th.
|
Promo: Bet $5 Get $200 + Up to $150 in No Sweat Bets | Learn More |
|
Promo: $1,000 First Bet on Caesars | Learn More |
|
Promo: Bet $5 Get $200 in Bonus Bets | Learn More |
About Last Night
The Brewers saw a string of remarkable starting pitching performances come to an end on Friday, as Adrian Houser took the loss, allowing five hits and three runs in 4.1 innings. That marked Milwaukee’s first loss by a starting pitcher since April 5, and the team had gone 6-2 since then to climb into a share of first in the NL Central.
You love to see it. pic.twitter.com/1JtJ2WkyNk
— Pirates (@Pirates) April 17, 2021
On the other side, the Pirates rode a three-run fifth inning to victory, lifting the team to a 5-2 record in recent games. They’ve allowed two or fewer runs in four of those recent victories.
On Friday, Pittsburgh’s bullpen yielded just a hit and four walks in three innings, following a stellar start from JT Brubaker, who tossed six innings, giving up just four hits, one run and fanning eight.
Brewers Career Stats vs Trevor Cahill
| Player | AB | HR | RBI | AVG. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jackie Bradley Jr. | 3 | 0 | 1 | .333 |
| Avisail Garcia | 7 | 1 | 1 | .286 |
| Keston Hiura | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Billy McKinney | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Omar Narvaez | 8 | 0 | 0 | .250 |
| Jace Peterson | 7 | 0 | 0 | .286 |
| Manny Pina | 3 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Travis Shaw | 3 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Daniel Vogelbach | 7 | 1 | 1 | .429 |
| Christian Yelich | 0=6 | 0 | 0 | .167 |
Who’s Hot
He wasn’t at his absolute best on Friday (1-for-5), but Pirates third baseman Philip Evans has been a breakout star in the early stages of the season to the surprise of many (myself included).
I’ll admit I didn’t know who Evans was when the season began, but now I know he has reached safely in all 12 games and has a 1.001 OPS from the second spot in the Pirates’ order.
The legend of Phillip Evans continues. pic.twitter.com/rP0eOKZ0eY
— Pirates (@Pirates) April 11, 2021
The Brewers, admittedly, don’t have anyone as hot as Evans — unless you want to count starter Corbin Burnes, but he’s not relevant to Saturday’s matchup. Catcher Omar Narvaez did enter the night with a .414 average, but he cooled off a bit by going 0-for-4 with a strikeout.
Pirates Career Stats vs Brett Anderson
| Player | AB | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Alford | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Wilmer Difo | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Phillip Evans | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Adam Frazier | 6 | 0 | 0 | .667 |
| Erik Gonzalez | 5 | 0 | 0 | .400 |
| Colin Moran | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Kevin Newman | 2 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| Gregory Polanco | 2 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Bryan Reynolds | 5 | 0 | 0 | .200 |
| Jacob Stallings | 3 | 0 | 1 | .333 |
Get to Know the Starters
Where the Brewers see their advantage in this game — as they have for much of the season so far — is on the mound.
And it’s not even that Milwaukee’s Brett Anderson (1-1, 4.50 ERA) is all that good, but rather that he’s a much steadier presence than Pittsburgh’s Trevor Cahill (0-1, 8.00 ERA).
Brett Anderson extended the #Brewers streak of outstanding starting pitching. Craig Counsell talks about his outing and more: pic.twitter.com/AeXOSnJvAk
— Bally Sports Wisconsin (@BallySportWI) April 11, 2021
Both pitchers are coming off starts in which they allowed one run in five innings, but before that Cahill blew up in a four-inning, seven-run outing against the Reds. He’s on his sixth team in the past five years (4.82 ERA in that span), and the main reason is an inability to remain consistent.
The Brewers will still likely be without Christian Yelich, which hurts, but they’ve got enough pop to rattle Cahill and get a victory.
Pick: Milwaukee Brewers (-143)
This article may contain links to external sports betting services. SBD may receive advertising revenue from these links, however editorial has hand-picked each individual link based on relevance to the article, without influence on the coverage.
Jordan Horrobin is a sports journalist whose MLB, NHL, NFL and NCAA work has appeared in outlets such as The Athletic, MLB.com, the Detroit Free Press and more. He is currently based in Toronto, also working as a contributor for Forbes.com and a freelance editor for Sportsnet.
